Chasing after nothing
by shiguresoen
Summary: There are things in life that one just knows are worth all the struggles...she's one of them, and he's willing to chase her down to the ends of time. Whether she agrees or not is not even up for discussion. KibaSaku. ON HOLD!


As it stands I will never, ever own Naruto. So I'll console myself with this new story.

Cloudy skies speak of chance meetings...

* * *

She watches them sit together, hand in hand, glancing bashfully at each other every once in a while.

She will never admit it hurts. Or that she would like nothing better than to stand and pour her coke over that bastard's chicken hair.

But she won't. She hates scandal, which is why he broke things with her through a letter. Still, she thinks that a phone call would have been better.

He's leaning in for the kill. The pretense of stretching his arms becomes an intimate embrace.

Now she _really _wants to dump her soda on him. With the follow-up of messy butter drenched popcorn.

She tears her eyes from them and intently focuses on the movie. It's a beautiful film and she regrets missing some of it to watch him and his date.

She watches, transfixed, and wonders what she would look like, if she dressed up like a Geisha. Her vivid mind produces the picture quite clearly, and she can imagine falling in love with a kind man who offers her a sweet treat.

When its over, she's left basking in the glow of what the movie left her feeling. She wants to cry happily.

She closes her eyes to add to the emotion. "Sakura?" she hears.

Her eyes open and she's caught in his stare, confused, but in a beat knowing. "Where you stalking me?" he asks, grin in place.

"No," she deadpans. "It was a coincidence. I only knew you where here thanks to your ghastly haircut. You should really think about changing it, you know."

The grin slips off. He frowns and shrugs. "Whatever, stalker," he says before proceeding to walk out.

She's left with a hollow sort of feeling. She wants to run after him and sock him one. She would like to stand and scream that he's a creep, and to dig a hole and die in it.

But she won't. Scandal's not her thing.

---

She wakes up to cloudy skies. She thinks that's fine, they match her mood.

She gets up, dons a pair of jeans on, then realizes she's run out of clean shirts. She heads over to her brother's room and snatches the smallest shirt she sees.

An hour later she's walking to school, her heavy backpack nearly making her spine arch. There's a gust of wind that blows so harshly, it nearly makes her topple over.

She blows a long bang of pink away from her face and smoothes down her brother's old D.A.R.E shirt.

New term, she thinks, and wonders if she will be put in the same class as chicken-head. She has found that she can no longer say his name, and thinking of it too brings some sort of melancholy that she would rather avoid.

Opting for the name of chicken-head was a smooth call, she thinks. With luck, it will stick when she mentions it to her friends, and with more unlikely chance, said boy will come to always be called by such a name.

Another gust of wind howls and blows, and this time, due to her wandering mind, she falls backwards.

Except she doesn't meet the concrete with her head. Or at all.

She's saved, caught in the arms of some strange person who either was fast, and had equally speedy reflexes, or was just creepy and had been walking much too close to her.

She decides to no longer daydream.

"You alright?" asks her savior. She lifts her head to look at the person, but once she does she draws a blank. Has she ever met him?

He steadies her, and she thanks him with words and a flimsy sort of bow that's thwarted by the weight of her backpack.

She begins to walk again, and takes notice that the boy has too. Too close. Much too near.

She stops, he does as well.

She continues, he follows.

A sort of fear blossoms near her heart, it slowly begins to constrict her lungs.

She walks faster, he speeds up.

Her thoughts turn run wild. Could he be some sort of rapist? Does he want to rob her? Kill her?

There's a thick, choking something caught in her throat. But she's not a wimp, and she's smart enough to develop some sort of plan.

Yes, a plan. An escape route that will leave the stranger so confused that he will loose sight of her.

Unfortunately her mind is not cooperating, it's buzzing white with no ideas. Her heart is slamming against her ribcage, beating too harshly, or so she feels.

The school is still a while off, she hastily wonders is she would make it if she breaks into a run.

She mulls it over frantically, but something stops her train of thought.

His hand is on her shoulder, and instinctively she stops and turns.

He's tall. Smiling. Has tattoo's.

She feels her eyes widen, and falls into a chasm of desperation. In a swift movement, that even she's surprised of, her backpack is off her back and swinging violently.

Her heavy books make contact with his belly, and with an undignified 'oomph' he falls on his rear.

She does too, she lost balance due to the weigh she swung.

"The fuck?" he says to himself, and blinks at her idiotically. "What the hell, girl?" he demands.

She remains seated on the cold concrete, eyes wide, wondering what on earth was going to happen now.

He messily clambers to his feet, wincing slightly, rubbing his abused belly. "You," he gasps, directing his words to her. "Need to chill, but seriously."

Annoyance pangs lightly at his comment, but even so it's drowned out by her apprehension.

He couches down when she doesn't respond, and she shifts backwards. "Hey," he speaks, and she can smell his breath, it smells of granola.

"You sure you're all right…and I mean in here," he says, and knocks on her head.

She's struck again by the feeling of annoyance, so that the waves of fear are pushed down by the island of her anger.

"How dare you!" she musters and launches a well directed right hook to his person. He however cushions her fist with the palm of his hand, blocking her easily.

"Calm down, crazy girl!" he exclaims, a surprised expression firmly etched on the contours of his face. "I was only following you cuz' you're wearing Konoha's hitai-ate," he says, pointing to the insignia she wears as a hair ribbon.

She blinks, and forgets to extract her fist from his grasp. "What?" she utters.

He shrugs. "I've got no idea where the effin school is…I though you'd lead me to it," he explains. "I guess I scared you, sorry about that."

She unclenches her hand and as if waiting for that motion, the boy pulls up from his crouch and tugs her up as well.

She watches as he bends down and grabs her backpack. He swings it over his shoulder and winces. "Geez, the hell you have in here? Bricks?…felt like bricks."

She emerges from her stupor and makes a grab for her backpack. He shifts aside, avoiding her hands.

"Let me carry it for you, it's the least I can do…for scaring you shitless, you know," he explains.

She gapes. "You did not!" she shouts. "You did not scare me!"

He blinks. "Then why the hell did you attack me with your backpack, is that your way of greeting someone?"

She turns red. "No," she says. "Ugh, fine! I _was _scared," she relents. "Happy?"

He shrugs. "I guess. Not that I blame ya." He grins, "I'm pretty scary."

She grins too, and nods. "No kidding, the tattoo's totally pull of the 'gang member fear me' look."

His grin breaks into a smile. "Got that right." He walks and nudges her hip with his. "Wanna get going then, I need to pick up my schedule…if you haven't guessed, I'm new here."

She smiles too. "Sure, new scary kid." She falls into step with him. "By the way, I'm Haruno Sakura."

He looks at her curiously then nods. "Figures." he says, "With the pink hair."

She glares. "And you?"

He sticks his chest out proudly. "You are looking at the one and only, Inuzuka Kiba!"

She snorts and sticks her tongue out at him. "Figures, you dog," she laughs. Then breaks into a run as he lunges for her.

"Come back here! No one makes fun of the Inuzuka Kiba!"

She looks over her shoulder and reflects his eager smile. "There's a first time for everything!"

---

Preview for next chapter:

**"If you don't let go, I'll sue you for harassment!"**

**"Yeah, right...who is going to believe you Sakura?"**

**"Me, that's who...now step away from the crazy girl..."**

**"Kiba!"**

**"Or what, you dog?"**

**"Or you'll have to have a talk with my fist, Uchiha!"**

**"Kiba, you idiot!"**

Hehe, This will be the only chapter that's so small. Expect lengthier ones soon.

R&R please, it would make me very happy.


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